Archive for the ‘Fun and Games’ Category

This summer, I attended a hot-air balloon festival. I love the amazing photo ops balloon launches provide! Plus, this balloon launch had a “balloon glow” in the evening in addition to the balloon launch in the morning. (A balloon glow is where the balloons inflate but don’t take flight.)

The festival sponsors held a photo contest, so I thought I’d enter a few pics. Here’s a sampling of what I submitted.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Of course, I couldn’t leave this post without a parable:

The Parable of the Weather at the Balloon Glow

The evening of the balloon glow, I had several tasks on my to-do list to accomplish. The weather had been threatening a storm, which would prevent the balloon glow from being possible. The rest of my party headed over early, and I’d planned to meet up with them if the weather looked promising. As the time for the balloon glow approached, the festival operators had still not given the word of whether it would be safe to fill the balloons. I couldn’t wait longer to make my decision, though. I knew the best light for my photos would be right at dusk, and unless I left immediately I would miss that lighting.

I decided to take the chance, knowing that if the glow didn’t take place I would have spent a lot of time in the car that I could have been working on my to-do list. I arrived about ten minutes later than I would have liked, but I was able to catch most of the lighting I wanted. As it turned out, the balloon glow was a go. My leap of faith to pursue my course not knowing whether it would be in vain or not ended up leading to some nice photo ops and an enjoyable time with the people I attended with.

On Wednesday, I challenged myself to create a layout in just ten minutes, following these five parameters:
* I had five minutes to gather products before the clock started for the ten-minute period.
* The layout needed places for photos, but I couldn’t add the photos until afterward. In fact, I couldn’t base the layout on any specific photos.
* The layout needed to contain at least one embellishment.
* The pages should be primarily made of cardstock or paper.
* There must be room for a title and for journaling.

The layout above was the result. Granted, I did adhere the ribbon and orange blocks after the ten minutes were up, but I feel like this was a good start. I still needed to add the photos, which would then allow me to create the title and journaling. For spending only ten minutes, though, I was pleased with the result. Here are a few lessons I learned:

1. Ten-minute pushes have incredible power. The next time you have a task to do, set the timer and pretend you only have ten minutes to finish. You may not be completely done after the ten minutes, but I guarantee you’ll be much further along than you would have been had you not pushed a ten-minute time frame. Without my challenge, I’m sure I would still be looking through my papers after ten minutes—or even after twenty minutes.

2. Sometimes it’s okay to have a vision and a goal without knowing what the road you’ll take to get there actually looks like. My goal for this challenge was to have a nearly complete layout and to enjoy some creative play. I had no clue what cardstock colors or design arrangement would help me reach that goal, but I knew the parameters I’d set would produce the finished result.

3. It’s okay to be “good enough” on certain tasks. That’s a painful sentence for perfectionists. I could have spent hours creating a layout with perfect alignment and balance, or I could create a page today that’s done and is still “good enough.” I think we need to make choices between “good enough” and “perfected details” on the projects on our to-do lists. This Saturday, making an only “good enough” lunch or completing a “good enough” workout will give me extra time to iron out the details on a slideshow I’m creating. Next Saturday, I may decide that a “perfected detail” workout is just what I’ll need. In prioritizing, we need to remember that sometimes “good enough” is good enough.
Are you ready for a challenge? Find an item on your to-do list and try to complete it in just ten minutes. See how much you get done! If you’re a scrapbooker, create a ten-minute layout like I did and then send me a link to your post when you’re done—I’d love to see your work.

***

Here’s the nearly finished layout. I still need to print my pics and then add the stitching around them and in a couple other spots on the layout. But this provides the direction I’m going after another ten minutes.

Childhood memories must be on my mind lately, because like the last one, this week’s 10-Minute Tale is also about childhood. Perhaps it’s because summertime brings out the inner child (particularly the child who wishes we had summers off). This week, the challenge is to record the typical activities you enjoyed during summertime. You can focus on a particular year or span all the summers of childhood. You’ve got 10 minutes—go!

For my tale, I ended up using a list for most of the memories. I felt like most people know (or can easily search on the Internet if they don’t know) what each activity is if they aren’t familiar with anything, because all my activities were pretty common. Here’s my tale:

Lazy Days of Summer
As a child, I’m sure I took for granted the long summers we had off from school. Ah, to live that life again. During summer, I generally enjoyed these activities, grouped by age:

Early elementary school:
* Playing with Barbies
* Spending way too many hours on video games, particularly Dr. Mario (original Nintendo) or Super Mario Brothers 3 (Super Nintendo) (I just searched online for a Dr. Mario image, and I found that you can now play it online. Beware, it’s addicting.)
* Jumping on the trampoline
* Playing “House,” along with its sister: “School”
* Playing with my friends’ cats (“Playing” seems to have a negative connotation, but we treated them extremely well.)
* Enjoying slides at the water parks
* Swimming at the pool

Late elementary school:
* Rollerblading at Classic Skating or 49th Street Galleria (My blades were black with neon-orange laces—beauties, eh?)
* Enjoying slides at the water parks
* Swimming at the pool
* Spending hours playing Scum or Nertz (I learned the art of the bridge shuffle. My friends now ask if I worked in Vegas; the answer is a definitive “no.” I credit all my skill to these long days of Scum and Nertz.)
* Playing night games like Sardines (I ended up in a foot cast at the start of summer after fifth grade because I didn’t see a hole in the ground during a game of Sardines; that’s a tough move for an elementary-school child—I couldn’t swim the entire summer.)
* Jumping on the trampoline
* Swinging on the bars at the elementary school

High school:
* Participating in youth camps like AFY and EFY
* Babysitting regularly
* Working temp jobs on occasion
* Honestly, I can’t remember more right now, which is odd since these years were the most recent. I’ll have to ask my friends and siblings. But that’s for another 10-minute segment, since my time is up.

And it’s time for another Web site of the week. Check out BembosZoo.com. The graphics and animation on this site are based on the artful Bembos Zoo book by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich. I love the way it blends typography and imagination into an animated art form. Here’s what you’ll find when you click on the letter “K.” The koala image is formed solely from letters in the word koala.

Elizabeth Kartchner has a fun game to celebrate this day of wonderfully ascending sequential numbers. Check it out here. And if you need more motivation (if you’re familiar with Elizabeth Kartchner, that won’t be necessary), there’s a giveaway involved, too. Free prize, anyone?

For the last several years, I celebrated the morning of the Fourth of July by helping with a carnival hosted by my singles ward (church congregation). The carnival is accompanied by a breakfast and parade, but I’ve never been able to participate in the parade because I volunteered at the carnival. I’d planned to volunteer this year as well, but I was precluded from doing so because of my cold (I didn’t want to pass it along to anyone else).

The carnival has become a tradition for my family, though, so I still attended—just on the observing side rather than the hosting side. At first it was strange to not help, but it was wonderful to participate with my family. I was able to watch the parade for the first time. It’s a small community parade, and it was a treat to see the kids with decorated bikes donned with streamers. We even saw ducks and goats strutting the red, white, and blue. At the carnival, I was able to walk around with my nephews as they played games instead of seeing their excitement only when they played games at the booths I hosted. And it was enjoyable to watch the community bonding instead of focusing on details to make sure everything was functioning well.

The role reversal left me thinking about how important it is to break outside our normal roles sometimes to enjoy a different perspective. I think that’s why Disneyland is such a popular place—we get to set aside the responsibilities of adulthood and simply play. That’s why reading is so pleasurable—it can take us to a different setting that allows us to momentarily put aside our concerns. It can be refreshing. Perhaps sometime this month we can all experience a little role reversal of sorts. If we’re normally the center of attention, we can see what it’s like to sit back and listen to others one night. If we’re normally the quiet one, we can try participating a little more. If we’re normally completely structured in our plans, we can set aside one night to be spontaneous, or vice versa. We may just enjoy being the carnival observer rather than the host.

***

Here’s a rundown of the rest of my holiday pursuits:
* Had brunch at IHOP after the carnival. Mmm.
* Saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I enjoyed the first two movies of the series, and this third movie did not disappoint.
* Enjoyed another parade—this time it was a larger city parade.
* Attended an outdoor concert. Sadly, the power went out after the first few numbers. It was restored about fifteen minutes before the fireworks. The downtime in between provided a great chance to talk, though.
* Watched the fireworks. After thinking about being an observer rather than assuming my usual role (in this case, a trigger-happy photographer), I took far fewer photos than normal. I typically watch the fireworks through the viewfinder of my camera. Last night I opted to enjoy them in the sky instead. I still took some photos, but the majority of the display was spent with my camera in my lap. It did feel refreshing.

***

10-Minute Tale: Recess
I think it’s time for a 10-minute tale. The topic: elementary-school recess. Recess was a haven for students during elementary school. Whether you played ball or hopscotch or ran for the swings, those fifteen minutes of freedom were the perfect escape. Have you ever recorded your fond memories from the playground? Now’s the time, and it will only take 10 minutes. There’s no pressure to be a Rowling or a Dickens. You don’t need tidy punctuation. Just record your story—that’s the part that matters. If you’re wondering what to record, think about the following:
* What did the playground look like?
* Where was the first place the students ran once you went outdoors?
* Were there days you couldn’t go outside because of weather or air quality?
* What were your favorite games to play?
* Who did you spend your recess time with?
* How did your choice of recess destinations change as you switched grades in elementary school?
Now that memories are flowing, it’s time to get started. Ready, you’ve got 10 minutes. Go!